Expanded Views: A Bigger and Better Art Fair Philippines Highlights the Best of Contemporary Art

Art Fair Philippines returns for the third time
and promises to be bigger and better. It is a trade fair to market artworks, as
well as a platform to showcase the best in Philippine contemporary visual art
as well as a tool to foster wider appreciation for contemporary art, said one
of the organizers, Lisa Periquet of Philippine Art Events Inc.

Art Fair Philippines will be mounted from
February 5 to 8, 2015, in Makati City. As with the previous two fairs, it will
again transform the car park building in Ayala Center, called The Link, into a
venue where the country’s leading galleries gather and exhibit artworks. This
year, more galleries are participating at 33, the biggest number so far. There
were 24 during the maiden event, occupying 2,780 square meters, and 28 last
year. Aside from local galleries, the 2015 fair will also include eight
participants from around Southeast Asia.

At the heart of fair is a cluster of special
exhibitions of selected artists, which the organizers consider the most
exciting names in Philippine contemporary art. According to organizer Dindin
Araneta, selected are those making important works, who have achieved both
commercial and critical success, and have been invited to exhibit here and
abroad. Also, they also want to highlight “neglected” artists such this year’s
focal artist Roberto Feleo.

Feleo, professor and mentor to many artists,
will be at the central exhibit space in The Link’s sixth level. The exhibit
will include life-sized pieces tackling a pivotal point in Philippine history.
Feleo will be joined by artists Mike Adrao, Poklong Anading, Annie Cabigting,
Buen Calubayan, Mariano Ching and Yasmin Sison, Kawayan de Guia, Alfredo
Esquillo Jr., Geraldine Javier, and Maria Taniguchi, who will be at the seventh
level.

The special exhibits are curated in
consultation with Dr. Patrick Flores, who was selected to be the curator of the
Philippine pavilion at the upcoming 56th Venice Biennale. Art Fair Philippines
again collaborates with prominent furniture designer Kenneth Cobonpue and his
team to fine-tune the fair’s layout.

Auction house Christie’s will return this year
as sponsor and it will run Art Fair Philippines’ lecture series called
Christie’s Art Forum. Art Fair Philippines welcomes a new sponsor, prominent
local clothing brand Bench. Food and beverage partners for this year are Kai
Restaurant, The Straits Wine Company, and Coca Cola.

Art Fair Philippines is included under the
campaign “Make It Happen. Make it Makati” of Makati City, which projects itself
as enclave that promotes art, culture and history, as well as urabn innovations
and other developments. To entice more visitors, Makati has partnered with
MasterCard for its Priceless Makati Staycation promo. It offers clients the
chance to stay in one of the four hotel brand in the area, Raffles Makati,
Fairmont Makati, InterContinental Manila, and Holiday Inn and Suites Makati.
Those availing of the promo this February can get two complimentary tickets to
the Art Fair.

Art Fair Philippines is one of the two major
visual art fairs in the country. The one being ManilArt, organized by the
National Committee on Art Galleries of the National Commission for Cultural and
the Arts, which is on its sixth year. Over the years, Art Fair Philippines
enjoyed increasing attendance. About 6,000 visitors attended in 2013, while
about 10,000 visitors were at last year’s event. Organizers hope to exceed the
10,000 mark.

Geraldine Javier’s Let's Talk About Art (detail of work in progress), using embroidery, fabric, foam, (2014-2015)

Annie Cabigting’s Girl in Red With Twins at the MOMA, oil on canvas, 2014-2015

Tickets
are available at the reception area located at the sixth floor of The
Link. Art Fair Philippines is co-presented by Ayala Land Premiere,
Alveo, Bank of the Philippine Islands, Globe Telecom, Volkswagen, and
Bench. It falls under the Make It Happen Make It Makati initiative.
For more information, visit www.artfairphilippines.com
and
www.facebook.com/artfairph.
Email secretariat@artfairphilippines.com
or
irene@artfairphilippines.com.
Call phone number 831-0953.

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About Me

ROEL HOANG MANIPON
How do I begin? There's not much but then there's so much. But it must begin somewhere, so here it goes: I will begin with something "mundane" (but really not mundane; they're all cosmic to me. These are what I do, and thus a big part of what I am: a journalist, poet, fictionist, essayist, cultural researcher, travel writer, publication designer, sometime painter, amateur photographer, translator, strip dancer, masseur, model and a natural cook. Whoa! That sounds a lot. But really, not doing all at the same time, may two or three at the same time, but all them in me. And there are other things that I want to do or be, like being an astronaut, archaeologist, filmmaker, etc. I think one lifetime is not enough for me. Often I don't refer to them as simply jobs but passions. Oh, yeah, I'm forever a student too. Forever a boy.